San Francisco Giants' Pablo Sandoval celebrates after Game 7 of baseball's National League championship series against the St. Louis Cardinals Monday, Oct. 22, 2012, in San Francisco. The Giants won 9-0 to win the series. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)The Associated Press

The series begins tomorrow night in San Francisco, with Tigers ace Justin Verlander set to square off against Giants left-hander Barry Zito in Game 1.

Here's a look at some of the local and national coverage leading up to the series:

ESPN.com baseball columnist Tim Kurkjian looks at five burning questions, including the state of the Giants' rotation and the back end of the Tigers' bullpen.

Ace Matt Cain started the Giants' clinching Game 7 win over the Cardinals, meaning he likely won't start until Game 3 in Detroit. Zito will match up with Verlander in Game 1, and Tim Lincecum could be in line to start Game 2 against Detroit's Doug Fister. Advantage: Detroit.

With ace Verlander set up to pitch twice in the first five games of the series, Detroit has an edge in starting pitching, writes Chris Iott for MLive.com. The Giants had to throw everything at the Cardinals just to reach the World Series while the Tigers swept the New York Yankees and had the luxury of setting up their rotation.

The Giants came all the way back from a 3-1 series deficit for an improbable win over the St. Louis Cardinals, writes Henry Schulman for the San Francisco Chronicle. The Giants won six elimination games in their two playoff series, the last of which came in the pouring rain last night in San Francisco.

"How fitting that it happened in the rain," team president Larry Baer told the Chronicle. "October is our most beautiful month in San Francisco and it's pouring outside. It's crazy, just like everything this team has done."

With the pitching deck seemingly stacked in Detroit's favor, the Giants will rely on postseason magic to climb one more improbable mountain.

Last night, Stark points out, it was a broken-bat double by Hunter Pence that ignited a rally and turned the tide in San Francisco's favor. What could be the Giants' defining moment against the Tigers?